Slasher-loader



Feb. 10, 1970 J. THIBODEAU 3,494,389

SLASHER-LOADER Filed Dec. 6, 1967 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

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BY j/an 7X 1Z0 Feb. 10, 1970 J. L. THIBODEAU SLASHER-LOADER 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed Dec. 6, 196'? Fig 1'4 United States Patent 3,494,389 SLASHER-LOADER John L. Thibodeau, Tampa, Fla., assignor to Standard Alliance Industries, Oakbrook, 111., a corporation of Illinois Filed Dec. 6, 1967, Ser. No. 688,409 Int. Cl. B27b /14 US. Cl. 143-32 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus for slashing and loading timber consisting of an inner main boom and an outer knuckle boom and support linkage for both, said booms and linkage being secured at the base end to a bell crank mount and at the working end to a hoist bar which remains in a fixed position. A clamp frame having a timber clamp and a power saw afiixed to it is hung from said hoist bar. The frame has a cam surface which bears against said hoist bar to maintain a fixed horizontal position during use.

This invention relates to apparatus for the slashing and loading of timber. More particularly the invention relates to apparatus which grasps felled timber, slashes it to a desired size and loads it onto a vehicle for transport.

In the past such apparatus has generally comprised a powered crane mounted on a truck or other mobile vehicle. The crane was equipped with a clamping means to grasp and to pick up felled timber. A power saw afiixed to the clamping means would then slash the timber and it would be loaded onto a vehicle for transport or stacked or whatever else was desired with respect to the slashed timber.

While such apparatus offered a great savings in time and cost, there have been certain inherent difiiculties in the use of such apparatus. These difficulties have primarily been in the lack of positive control over the timber along its longitudinal axis, especially after the timber is slashed to the desired size. To combat such, two spaced clamping supports had to be provided or else the operator was forced to operate several control mechanisms simultaneously to maintain the timber in the preferred horizontal position, or else the timber had to be picked up near its balance center. If shifting occurred, a dangerous situation was created.

The net result has been twofold. First, the degree of skill necessary to operate such apparatus has required longer training periods for operators and consequently higher labor costs. Second, the extra time needed to properly position the apparatus to maintain longitudinal control over the timber necessitated a slower operation.

An object of this invention is to provide novel apparatus for grasping felled timber and slashing it to length.

Another object is to provide apparatus of the above character which provides positive control along the longitudinal axis of the timber during the complete grasping and slashing cycle.

Still another object is to provide apparatus of the above character which will automatically maintain the timber at the proper angular relation with respect to the ground.

A further object is to provide apparatus of the above character which will increase the production rate of loading slashed timber.

A still further object is to provide apparatus of the above character which will allow simple operation.

Another object is to provide apparatus of the above character which will substantially reduce the amount of shifting subsequent to slashing of the timber.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

In its most elemental form, the invention comprises a novel crane structure which may be mounted on a wheeled or tracked vehicle to provide mobility. The crane is in the form of a bell crank with parallel linkage. The free end of the crane is connected to a double pinned pivotable hoist bar. The bar supports and guides a clamping mechanism and a power saw.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the constructions hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the forward part of the hoist bar and the clamping mechanism and power saw aflixed thereto showing the power saw in the form of a circular embodiment with interior rim drive.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the entire hoist, hoist bar, clamping mechanism and power saw.

FIG. 3 is a side view.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the hoist bar, clamping mechanism and power saw.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the apparatus of FIG. 4 showing the clamping mechanism in the open position.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the apparatus of FIG. 4 showing the clamping mechanism in the closed position holding several logs.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of the electro-hydraulic control system.

FIG. 8 shows the hoist, hoist bar, clamping mechanism and saw mounted on a truck body in a typical timber slasher-loader operation.

FIG. 9 shows another embodiment of a power saw, more particularly a chain saw, in use in the apparatus of this invention.

FIGS. l0, l1 and 12 are similar to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 but with the chain saw embodiment of FIG. 9 shown therein.

FIG. 13 is a cross sectional view of the drive mechanism for the chain saw taken along line 1313 of FIG. 11.

FIG. 14 is a cross sectional view of the drive mechanism taken along line 1414 of FIG. 13.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the invention comprises a main boom 10 pivoted via main boom pivot pin 14, to hell crank type boom mount 12 affixed to a support 13, such as a truck body, railroad car and the like. A knuckle boom 16 pivotally supported on the free end of main boom 10 by knuckle boom pin 18 extends the overall length of the boom and provides a knuckle action to the entire boom as will be described hereinafter.

Knuckle boom 16 has a rearwardly extending lever arm 20. A knuckle boom hydraulic cylinder 22 is pivotally pinned between cylinder bracket 24 on the main boom and lever arm 20 to enable movement of the knuckle boom 16 in a knuckle-like movement with respect to the main boom 10.

Main boom 10 is raised and lowered by a main boom hydraulic cylinder 26 on each side of the boom (see FIG. 2), each cylinder being pivoted to support 13 at pin 28 and to the main boom 10 at pin 30. It should be evident that as cylinders 26 are extended or retracted, main boom 10 will pivot on main boom pivot pin 14 to cause a raising or a lowering respectively of the entire boom. And with extension or retraction of knuckle boom cylinder 22, such action can be simultaneously or subsequently supplemented by a knuckle action of the knuckle boom. Thus far,.intermediate or near accomplishment of the slasher-loader operation by the apparatus of this invention is possible.

Mounted vertically above, and on each side of the main boom and knuckle boom 16 are pairs of parallel boom support links 32, 34, 36 and 38. Links 32 are pivotally pinned to link pin 40 on boom mount 12, and pin 42 at each junction of links 32 and links 34. Links 34 are similarly pivotably pinned but between pins 42 and pins 44 at the junction of linkages 34 and links 36. The same structure exists as to links 36 and 38 via pins 46 and 48.

The boom support links are connected to the main and knuckle booms by appropriately positioned pivotable pairs of connector links. Thus, a pair of connector links 50 one on each side of the main boom 10 connects the boom support links 32 and 34 by a pivot connection of their ends to pivot pins 30 and 42. Two other pairs of connector links 52 and 54 connect boom support links 34 and 36, and 36 and 38 respectively to the front or working end of the main boom 10 and the rear end of the knuckle boom 16 by connection to pivot pins 18 and 44; and 18 and 46 respectively. It will be noted that connector links 52 and 54 are joined at their lower end to the common knuckle boom pin 18. It will be seen from the description as it proceeds that such common connection enables a better knuckle action.

The working end of boom support link 38 is pivotally affixed to a hoist bar 56.

Wit-h reference to FIGS. 10, 11 and 12, it can be seen that hoist bar 56 is doubly pinned to the far or working ends of knuckle boom 16 and boom support linkage 38 by hoist bar pins 58 and 48 respectively. As seen in FIGS. 11 and 12, the hoist bar 56 is, in actuality, two similarly shaped plates 56a and 56b joined or held together by pins 58 and 48 and clamp frame support pin 62 described hereinafter.

A clamp frame 64 with an inner clamp support 66 is suspended from the hoist bar 56 by support pin 62. The entire frame and support may be pivoted partially about a vertical axis by a clamp and saw rotation hydraulic motor 67.

The clamp 68 comprises two jaws 70 and 72 (FIG. 11) and two hydraulic cylinders 74 and 76. The cylinders 74 and 76 are pivotally pinned between the base of inner support 66 and the jaws 70 and 72 by jaw moving pins 78, 80 and jaw moving pins 82 and 84 respectively. The jaws 70 and 72 are pivoted on jaw pivot pins 86 and 88. These pins are secured to the lower end of clamp mechanism support 66.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, a ring saw 90 is utilized. Saw 90 has an inner geared drive rim 92 and a concentric outer cutting rim 94. The saw is supported on saw idler gear 98 and driven by saw drive gears 96 and 100. The drive gears are connected to hydraulic saw motors 102 and 103. Idler gear 98, and drive gears 96 and 100 and motor 102 are mounted on inverted U-shaped saw support 104 which can move vertically in track 106 by the action of saw moving cylinders 108. In this manner, logs 110 can be cut while clamped between jaws 70 and 72 (see FIG, 6). In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 9 to 14, a chain saw 112 is employed to cut logs 110. Saw 112 is pivoted about chain saw pin 114 and driven by a hydraulic drive mechanism illustrated in detail in FIGS. 13 and 14. The drive mechanism comprises a chain saw drive sprocket 116 driven by spline 118. The spline 118 is mounted in saw drive housings 120 and 122 via bearings 124 and 126 and is driven by hydraulic saw motor 127. And as best seen in FIG. 14, a rack 128 supported by rack idler 130 translates the horizontal motion of the piston of hydraulic saw pivot cylinder 132 to rotate housing 126 which, in turn, causes pivoting of chain saw 112 about spline 118 to cut the timber 110 (see FIG. 9).

During the slashing operation of the timber, various unbalancing forces act upon the clamp frame 64. However, the unique design employed in the support mechanism therefor resists such unbalancing forces and, if anything, the cutting action of the saW is aided to speed up the slasher-loader operation. Specifically referring to FIGS. 1, 3, 4, 9 and 10, it will be noted that the clamp frame 64 hangs freely via clamp frame pin 62 from the hoist bar 56. There is actually a clearance between frame 64 and the tail end 561 of hoist bar 56.

The hoist bar is stabilized in the position shown in the various figures by the action of the main and knuckle boom and the boom support links.

When jaws 70 and 72 grasp uneven length timber from a pile, such as illustrated in FIG. 8, there is a natural unbalancing force exerted on the clamp frame 64, in a tilting away direction from vehicle The weight of the vehicle acting through cam surface 56c on the clamp frame 64 offsets such and the timber is kept in a hori zontal position. And when the timber is cut, as in FIGS. 1 and 9, the cam surface 560 continues to stabilize the clamp frame 64 and hence the slashed timber in that horizontal position whereby easy stacking on railroad flat car 132 is enabled (see FIG. 8).

In addition to main and knuckle boom cylinders 26 and 22 respectively, it is preferred to operate the clamp and saw apparatus hydraulically. A typical hydraulic circuit for such is illustrated in FIG. 7. It comprises a control panel 150, located at a convenient spot to the operator. The panel contains a plurality of electrical control levers, each of which has a different function. One lever controls the two-way valve 152 which actuates jaw cylinders 74 and 76. Another lever controls two-way valve 154 which actuates clamp and saw rotation motor 67. A third lever controls two-way valve 156 which actuates saw moving cylinder 108. A fourth lever on the control panel controls two-way valve 158 which actuates saw motors 102 and 103 in the case of the ring saw embodiment of FIG. 6, or, with some modification, of the circuit hydraulic saw motor 127 and saw pivot cylinder 132. Electrical power for the control levers is supplied from source 160 and grounded to the vehicle frame at ground 162. Hydraulic fluid is supplied via inlet 164 and released to sump outlet 166. Pressure controller 168 regulates the pressure of ring saw moving cylinder 108.

The automatic positive control over the timber by the apparatus just described can best be explained by reference to FIG. 3. As main boom cylinders 26, on each side of main boom 10, are extended, main boom 10 will rotate counterclockwise about pin 14. As this occurs, boom support links 32 also rotate counterclockwise. Such movement causes connector link 50 to rotate clockwise about pin 30 and boom support links 34, 36 and 38 will shift axially toward hoist bar 56 to maintain it in the position shown in FIG. 3. If cylinders 26 are contracted, the reverse process will occur. It can thus be seen that regardless of the action of cylinders 26, jaws 70 and 72 will remain perpendicular to the ground.

If knuckle boom cylinder 22 is extended, lever arm 20 will cause knuckle boom 16 to rotate clockwise about pin 18. As this occurs, boom support links 38 will also rotate clockwise, the net result being that hoisting bar 56 remains in its same position as seen in FIG. 3. Thus, again jaws 70 and 72 will maintain their perpendicular relationship with respect to the ground.

Now, when timber 110 is lifted via clamp 68, it is lifted so that the cut end of the timber bears against timber butt plate 65 of the clamp frame 64. Being lifted in such fashion a moment is created about clamp frame support pin 62. However, this moment is directly transmitted by frame 64 to hoist bar 56 by the action of plate 65 camming against tail 56t of the hoist bar. Thus, bar 56 is positively maintained at its customary angular relationship (as shown) at all times and jaws 70 and 72 will remain perpendicular. Hence, positive control is automatically provided along the longitudinal axis of the timber. Even after saw 90 or 112 cuts timber 100, upsetting does not occur because of this positive longitudinal control.

The interaction of the main boom 10 and the knuckle boom 16 with the above described positive control provides further versatility. Now, near, intermediate, and far work positions can be assumed by the apparatus of this invention with auxiliary equipment, such as illustrated in FIG. 8.

It might be noted that, in practice, the ring saw 90 is preferred mainly because the mass and weight of the saw is less, and the drive gear is located near the circumferential edge which allows reduced torque and higher rotational speed of the drive motor. Rapid acceleration of saw 90 is therefore possible without the necessity of a reduction gear arrangement. It therefore can compete economically with chain saws heretofore more often used due to cost considerations. Furthermore, since chain saws are prone to stretching with use, are more difiicult to sharpen, and are always subject to jumping off the sprocket or breaking, thereby creating a safety hazard, the ring saw is preferred.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efiiciently attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A slasher loader comprising a bell crank mount, a main boom pivoted to said mount and extending outwardly therefrom, boom support linkage also pivoted to said mount but above said main boom pivot and extending outwardly from said mount parallel to said main boom, connector links connecting said main boom and said boom support linkage, a hoist bar, said bar pivoted to the outer ends of said main boom and said boom support linkage in such manner as to continuously maintain a fixed position, and a clamp mechanism and a power saw afiixed to said hoist bar, said clamp mechanism and said power saw are freely suspended from said hoist bar but are cammed by said hoist bar to maintain a fixed position during use.

2. The slasher loader of claim 1 wherein said bell crank mount is affixed to a vehicle.

3. The slasher loader of claim 1 having, in addition, a knuckle boom interposed between said main boom and said hoist bar and said support linkage is aflixed to both the main boom and the knuckle boom.

4. The slasher loader of claim 1 wherein said clamp mechanism and said power saw are affixed to a clamp frame and said clamp frame contains a cam surface which bears against said hoist bar to maintain said frame in a fixed position.

5. The slasher loader of claim 1 wherein said power saw is a pivotally mounted chain saw.

6. The slasher loader of claim 5 wherein said chain saw is controlled pivotally by a rack and pinion gear arrangement.

7. The slasher loader of claim 1 wherein said power saw is a ring saw with an interior rim drive.

8. The slasher loader of claim 7 wherein said ring saw is mounted within a vertically movable slide.

9. The slasher loader of claim 8 wherein said slide is vertically movable by hydraulic pressure cylinders which act on said slide.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS DONALD R. SCHRAN, Primary Examiner US. 01. X.R. 143 44 

